Making the Trade War local

All of this money these foreign countries make selling goods in the United states come from one source – YOU.

St. Petersburg, Fl
Opinion by: E. Eugene Webb PhD
Author: In Search of Robin, So You Want to Blog.

You hear about it. You read about it. You hear all the gloom and doom; car prices will go up; canned beer prices will increase everything will get more expensive, and the economy will crash.

And it is all Trumps’ fault. China, Canada, Germany, Mexico and others threaten to retaliate, and some already have.

Why, because we have a terrible trade imbalance with these countries, they sell billions of dollars’ worth of goods here while our businesses and industries are highly restricted by tariffs and other considerations from selling in their domestic market.

As Trump has said time and time again all, we are looking for is a fair deal.

You may find all of this interesting but think it is out of my real control. There is nothing you as an individual can do, the powers from the top have to fix international trade.

Not necessarily true.

All of this money these foreign countries make selling goods in the United states come from one source – YOU.

We all buy their cars appliances, clothes, electronics, pots, pans, in fact most of our consumer goods are imported.

International trade is flow process; goods are made in a foreign country quickly shipped through a distribution channel to the United States moved to market and sold. The pace at which all of this happens is quite uprising.

Let’s start with China.

Next time you go to the store to buy something look at the label to see where it was made. If it was made in China, put it back on the shelf and look for a similar product with a different origin.

It seems like a simple thing, but if enough of us were to do this and Chinese products from clothes to electronics start backing up in the pipeline something will have to give.

If Americans as a group were to boycott Chinese, Mexican, German products the negative flow of foreign trade revenue would slow dramatically if not stop. That is much worse than any tariff could ever be.

So, whether you like Trump or not, you can be a player in the trade war conflict. It is not about winners and losers as much as it is about a level playing field for all our businesses who have exportable products.

Next time you’re in a store checkout that pot, pan, shirt, pair of jeans, and if they're made in a country that’s stiffing us like China or Mexico, put em’ back and look for a substitute.

Now would also be a very good time to start shopping local.

E-mail Doc at mail to: dr.gwebb@yahoo.com or send me a Facebook (E. Eugene Webb) Friend request. Like or share on Facebook and follow me on TWITTER  @DOC ON THE BAY.
See Doc's Photo Gallery at Bay Post Photos.  

Disclosures:
Contributor to: Rick Scott for Senate 

Please comment below